Motivation Australia’s Senior Clinical Coordinator recently attended the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) World Congress in Yokohama, Japan. Lauren was attending at the request of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to present on two key initiatives; the GATE project and the Wheelchair Service Training Packages.
The GATE project was an outcome of “Assistive Technology Opens Doors”, a high level meeting hosted by the WHO and the Government of Philippines during the United Nations General Assembly on Disability and Development (HLMDD). In order to work towards more affordable and accessible assistive health technology the key stakeholders in the HLMDD requested that the WHO provide leadership in this area; which has developed into the Global Cooperation on Assistive Health Technology or GATE initiative.
The WHO will be working over the next two years to establish and launch GATE in 2016. More information can be found on the GATE website.
The Wheelchair Service Training Packages (WSTP) have been an active resource for mobility device service providers establishing or enhancing mobility device service provision in less resourced settings since its launch in 2012 (basic) and 2013 (intermediate). WSTP however is also highly relevant for use in Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy degree programmes worldwide, along with therapists currently providing wheelchair and seating services in well resourced contexts. More information can be found on the WHO WSTP website.